Miasma

I got the term from a video game, Tales of Destiny II also known as Tales of Eternia in the US market. The antagonist, Shizel, was confronted by the protagonist, Reid, about her wish to destroy the world. Shizel replied,

"What is the value in a world choking in the miasma of its own sickening desire?"

Miasma as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is 1 : a vaporous exhalation formerly believed to cause disease; also : a heavy vaporous emanation or atmosphere, 2: an influence or atmosphere that tends to deplete or corrupt .Aha! A new word was added to my vocabulary. Miasma.

I was then inspired to ask my friends a question using Shizel's question, with a few additional questions.

"What is the value in a world choking in the miasma of its own sickening desire? Do we humans deserve to live? If our existence poses a great danger for the planet that keeps us alive, should we continue living?"

I may have been watching to many movies. The same idea came Klaatu played by Keanu Reeves in the movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Klaatu said,

"If the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth survives. There are only a handful of planets in the cosmos that are capable of supporting complex life."

This may be considered by some as a narrow-minded approach to life. But we fail to see the Big Picture that if our species continue to exist as we do today, expanding without considering the possible effects on the environment of such expansion, the earth will die. Probably not in our lifetime, but in the lifetime of our children's children. Should the planet die for the sake of one species? We fail to see Klaatu's and Shizel's points as we are part of what they are criticizing. Human chauvinism at best. We fail to see that we are not special. We are not the crown of creation, the source of all value, the measure of all things. But these three things are greatly embedded in our culture and consciousness.

So am I suggesting that we should kill ourselves? No. I'm suggesting that we should take a look at the world from different points of view. We are human beings, capable of change, able to evolve and adapt. I may not have the solution for the problem of human expansion, extinction of species and earth degradation. But I do hope that after reading this article, you will be able to see.